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It has become a truism of humanitarian and social impact advocates that the words we use matter. When using terms or phrases that reflect the condescension, discrimination, or hatred of the past—even in jest—an individual can unintentionally undermine a person, practice, or institution. As an editor and communications professional, words are a medium that can be used or abused for good or ill.

Across time, words have shaped revolutions, nations, and wars. When the events of the past have expired into memories or dates on a page in some underused textbook, the words of famous men and women remain.

Gandhi would be the first to advocate that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Staring down the smiling Brazilian shopkeeper, I was suddenly reminded of the opposite challenge: when we have no words, what do we do? I couldn’t remember the last time I had failed to be understood, much less left speechless. Suddenly, I realized how much I had taken for granted my ability to communicate, regardless of context.

Within this publication, a number of authors have touted the benefits of global mindset, of getting outside your comfort zone through an intimate interaction with another culture, whether through the immersion of global pro bono, or through citizen diplomacy and cultural exchange. Confronting a circumstance in which words have little effect has a number of unexpected (and largely positive) consequences. When talking doesn’t work, listening intently is often the next-best option. It is these lessons in listening that enable us to better understand one another in the future, making us better leaders, collaborators, and friends. The more we listen, the more we understand.

The Numbers of Nonverbal Communication

My conversation with the shopkeeper, though imperfect, was ultimately successful. Between our limited understandings of one another’s language, much hand-gesturing, significant patience, and our hand-drawn map we were able to arrive exactly where the shopkeeper intended us to go. Unfortunately, it turned out that the shopkeeper’s intuition about the location of the Chalet, based on the photograph of the gate, was incorrect. Our map, while an accurate reflection of the shopkeeper’s direction, did not bring us to our anticipated destination. While the interaction didn’t immediately result in us finding our way, we were still successful in communicating and understanding each other under problematic conditions.

In such circumstances, non-verbal communication becomes vital in a way it never was before. In truth, when interacting directly with another, words make up only a tiny piece of mutual understanding. Experts approximate that 55 percent of communication is body language, 38 percent of communication is dictated by vocal tone, and only seven percent is actually the words we use.

Turning around and driving back to town, we stopped to ask another friendly passerby. “Rua Dom Pedro?” I queried, now confident at least of the road we were looking for. Straight past the quadrado, right, left, and right were the next set of directions. Now going in the opposite direction, I ignored the fact that the directions were exactly the same as those we had previously received from the shopkeeper. Executing the directions left us at the bottom of a hill, at a T-junction, contemplating whether we had reached the last right, or if we had somehow taken a wrong turn. A man stood next to a gate nearby. We rolled down the window: “Rua Dom Pedro?” The man shook his head. “Rua Dom Pedro?” he muttered something undiscernible under his breath.

For my husband, this was the final straw. Frustrated that I had allowed us to get so far with nothing but a hand-drawn map, he turned the car around and headed back to the shop.

I once again found myself standing in front of the persistently friendly shopkeeper when I had an almost comical realization. Was there a phone number? The shop owner generously offered for me to use his computer to check my email. There, in my inbox, was one unread message from my host, Sandra. “Alicia, please call to let me know when you will arrive!” her phone number listed below the message.

A phone call returned a male British voice. Confused, I spoke cautiously: “Hello… is Sandra there?”

“This is John Carlo, her husband. You must be Alicia.” Never had my mother tongue brought such relief.

Words Are Resources, Too

Words—in any language—are a complex tool, which in the hands of humankind have allowed our species to innovate and advance in powerful ways. In gentlemen’s agreements and contracts alike, words are the foundation of collaboration, partnership, and mutual understanding. Words are an important resource for solving problems, enabling or disabling the efforts of future leaders seeking to develop adaptive solutions to persistent problems in resource-constrained environments. The absence of a common language, while its own resource constraint, forces creativity, resilience, and persistence to find a way.

Whoever said that the pen is mightier than the sword definitely knew what they were talking about. To humans, words are more than a means of communication, they can shape our beliefs, behaviors, feelings and ultimately our actions. Although swords can coerce us, and threaten, nothing is more powerful than a tool which can shape our opinions.

When it comes to language and communication, the rule is that it’s not what you say, but what people hear. Words are one of the most powerful tools that we as humans possess; they can ignite revolutions or defuse tension. The problem is that words are underestimated as being central to thought and behavior processing as well as decision making.

Dr. Frank Luntz, author of Words That Work: It’s not what you say, It’s what people hear describes the decision making process and communication based on feeling rather than information. “80 percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect, says Luntz in a PBS interview. “I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. I can change how you think, but how you feel is something deeper and stronger, and it’s something that’s inside you. How you think is on the outside, how you feel is on the inside, so that’s what I need to understand.”

Working as a pollster and a linguistics consultant, Luntz advises the Republican Party on their usage of words, their communications to the press and the world, and in a sense, changes the way that they direct their language to achieve the results that they desire from the public as a whole.

Because we hear so many words and messages in our daily lives, we have developed a system to deal with certain types of messages. People can engage in two types of message processing, either central processing, which is an active and critical thinking process, or peripheral processing, which takes cues from other parts of the message, and evaluates based on other things besides the actual meaning of the message. Central processing is triggered by certain queues, such as involvement and immediacy. In short, if something is going to affect someone and soon, they are going to listen carefully to the message. If they are interested, or compelled to listen, they are much less likely to evaluate what you are saying on a central level.

When it comes to messages of the mass media, most Americans process the information peripherally. This also includes political messages and information. When it comes to politics, the complexity of issues are reduced to peripheral cues like source credibility, attractiveness and emotional words like responsibility and family values.

When it comes to mass media messages, Americans process most information peripherally. Issues such as complexity and disinterest in the message can lead to decision making based on surrounding cues instead of triggering central processing and an active decision.

Politics is full of messages that are designed to trigger peripheral processing cues and behavior based on emotion rather than information. One word can be completely neutral in emotion while another word meaning the exact same thing can either spark love or rage in those that hear it. The emotion is the trigger, finding the words that cause the emotion is the job of linguistics experts like Luntz. His advise and consultation are partially responsible for the name change of the “Estate tax” to the “Death tax” and its subsequent elimination. “For years, political people and lawyers used the phrase “estate tax.” And for years they couldn’t eliminate it. The public wouldn’t support it because the word “estate” sounds wealthy, explains Luntz. “Someone like me comes around and realizes that it’s not an estate tax, it’s a death tax, because you’re taxed at death. And suddenly something that isn’t viable achieves the support of 75 percent of the American people. It’s the same tax, but nobody really knows what an estate is. But they certainly know what it means to be taxed when you die.”

Republicans have also crafted their language to neutralize the fear of hazards due to global warming. Instead of referring to global warmer, the concept is dubbed “climate change” which lessens fears associated with global warming. Because of this change of behaviors and beliefs simply by the change of words, Luntz has been accused of manipulating language and therefore the audience absorbing the message.

The manipulation is not only isolated to the political or corporate world. Science and science research have also attracted suspicious glances from the public. This is why issues such as stem cells research and other breakthrough technologies are reacted to as vehemently as they are. The public, without proper tools to understand, and bombarded with complicated names and jargon of the science and health fields, are left to jumping on hot button issues like stem cell research. For example, I recently wrote an article about new technologies to reprogram adult tissue cells to pluripotent iPS cells. A reader commented on my article, suggesting that scientists use language to manipulate the public and hide behind words to avoid the hassle from the public. According to the reader, ” Scientist have to be more careful about the names they give to their new (life-linked) researches and all of its parts in order to avoid “Xtrem moralists”, superstitious and “Science/Tech/Research enemies” witch all the time, are searching and digging for any word slim linkable to any moralist religious or superstitious concepts just to obstruct or forbid it. If Steam Cells technologies had been called something like “XMFT-007″ from its beginnings, Science wouldn’t have gotten all the troubles it has due ignorance. So next time, get abstract names for your new life-linked Research.”

Hiding behind abstract language is not the answer, effective communication is the key. This is another reason why people in power should use language which demonstrates clarity and reduces emotion. The public is also responsible for processing their information and relying on intellect instead of solely relying on peripheral cues. To better understand the way we react to information, research on communication is vital to understanding our reactions, emotions and how they build our behaviors and actions. With this information, we can better prepare effective communication to the public and also guard ourselves from fallacious or leading information designed to target our emotions. Because in the end “Its not what you say, its what they hear.”

A word has the power to change your life. Think about that for a moment because it is literally an Earth-moving statement – to change your life. For more than a decade, technology has brought words into our lives more than ever before. No longer are words just what we hear, write or read – they have become what we create and how we interact with the world around us.

We all grew up believing the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Yet, at a certain point, you realized that was completely untrue and that words could hurt, just as you learned Pluto was a planet but many years later find out it is just a ball of ice no longer classified as a planet. Words, my friends, change everything! Words have a dramatic effect on what we know, how we interact with people and the decisions we ultimately make. Words can influence us, inspire us or just as easily bring us to tears.

Words change our relationships, our demeanor, our entire system of beliefs, and even our businesses. Being a planet or not being a planet makes a major difference, just as the words “I love you” or “I hate you” have majorly different meanings behind them. Words have a powerful and undeniably overwhelming influence on us – for good and, at times, for bad. Think for a moment how words have changed your life:

Marry me! It’s a girl! You have cancer. We lost him. You’re hired! You’re fired. We won! We lost. Guilty. Not guilty.

It may not seem intentional, but it has been. At the core, a large “organization of words” shift has taken place right in front of us. As a result, words have forever changed our lives and will continue to change our lives as never before. For the majority of us, not a single day goes by when we fail to interact and create relationships with words. Take Google, for example. Google is a company with a focus on classifying and organizing words. It is a very simple focus, really: to be better than any other entity at organizing words. Now, they may say they organize information, including documents, videos, photos, maps and more. But at the core, they are all words. A document may have many words, but they are always organized in a theme, and a theme can generally be focused to a sentence or title, and a title to a primary subject or word. The same goes for videos, photos, maps and more.

Imagine you are in a doctor’s office and you are told, “you have cancer.”

A single word “cancer” just changed your life and the lives of everyone close to you. Clearly, you listen to what your doctor says, but then you go to a place you know you can get a lot of answers – a search. You may do this when you get home to your computer or tablet or immediately on your mobile phone. But nonetheless, you begin to create and interact with the words by typing a few into the search box: “what is cancer” “cancer treatments” “cancer cures” “cancer survival.” Cancer comes in many forms, so perhaps your search is more specific: “what is triple negative breast cancer” “triple negative breast cancer treatments.” As you type, the words interact with you, providing answers to your questions. As a result, you learn of clinical trials as a treatment option, so you again leverage the interaction with words: “clinical trials for triple negative breast cancer,” and you find a powerful option that gives you another word – hope. Then and there, words and our relationship to them cross over into something that changes our life once again – twice in the same day, perhaps.

The meaning and value of words have become largely dependent on real-time demand, and therefore, the perceived value is determined solely by the epicenter of time and need. In other words, it’s determined when a moment in time crosses paths with a particular individual’s needs and the two interact. In the new economy, words also have an economic value. Therefore, a search for “cancer” is infinitely important and invaluable for the person that was just diagnosed, while the words “free shipping” may be most important and valuable for someone about to buy a “42inch 3D TV,” and both words have monetary value to some third party (i.e. a research institute or Sony) as well as the provider (i.e. Google or Amazon).

Services like Twitter have also focused on words (very few, in fact, given the 140 character limit), defining trends via hashtags (a word following a # – i.e. #cancer). That said, words transcend both search and Twitter. Words have become the key to everyday life. In our vehicles, many of us use words to get assistance, either via a service such as OnStar (I need help, my car won’t start) or via GPS (and don’t turn left when told to turn right, or the next word to leave your mouth may well be S%*T).

On eCommerce websites, such as Amazon.com, FatCork.com, BestBuy.com or even ColonialCandle.com, words change our experience: Free shipping, We recommend, One Click Checkout, Out of stock, Pre Order, etc. The way we interpret the end result of each of those seemingly simple words changes our present and future behaviors in real time. In fact, free shipping is still considered one of the top triggers to purchase.

In the media industry, search – both paid search and organic (SEO) – is a huge segment of the industry developed around and focused on the use of words. Words have implications in both paid search and SEO. One of the biggest factors includes relevancy: how relevant are the words searched – to the text ad copy – to the words on the landing page – to the words on the website? They are all interconnected. Words have interconnected us with technology.

Consider the new iPhone 4S. A new feature is Siri, a tool that uses words to assist the user (and with amazing accuracy). By speaking out loud to the phone, users can send messages, schedule meetings, find nearby restaurants, make phone calls and more. If you haven’t tried it, you should. You will want to buy the new iPhone 4S just for this feature. In fact, Siri might even save your life, given you no longer have to look at the phone to select a number to dial, thus keeping your eyes on the road.

Words also have great impact in the social media context. If a company truly manages social correctly and mines the data for trends via social intelligence analysis, what they would find are great differences in their customer mindset, purchase strategy, message associations and ultimately needs. This learning can translate into applied strategies in Customer Service, TV, Print, Outdoor, Event and Digital Media channels to further connect with customers in a way – and in words – the customer wants and expects from the business, instead of what the business thinks the customer wants.

Finally, words also have powerful meaning in religion. Great debates and even wars occur over the use and meaning of certain words in religious context. Consider the great differences in thought that occur simply with the mention of the words God, Allah and Buddha. The same can be said for politics. You will get strikingly different responses from everyday ordinary folks with just the simple mention of Republican, Democrat or Tea Party.

Words have forever changed our lives. They change our perspective, buying habits, moods and even how we use technology. Perhaps they help you find a friend, a product, a service, a job, a spouse, get a recommendation or even save your life.

Once you have spoken words, they are no longer yours. Other people will translate them, evaluate them, and measure them. Choose your words, make them appropriate for the situation, and be aware of the power of words. Poorly chosen words or speech used for personal, hubris, or evil can impact self-esteem, destroy morale, kill enthusiasm, inflame bias, incite hatred, lower expectations, hold people back, and even make people physically or mentally ill. Inappropriate words can make work and home toxic, abusive environments. There are many empirical studies showing that people who live and/or work in toxic environments suffer more colds, more cases of flu, more heart attacks, more depression, more of almost all chronic disorders, physical and emotional, than people who report living and/or working in happy, enjoyable, caring environments.

The old parental advice, “Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you,” was simply bad advice. However, well-chosen words or speech for the benefit of good or hope for others can motivate or inspire others to greater feats and deeds. They can offer hope; create vision; impact thinking beliefs and behavior of others; and alter results of strategy, plans, objectives, and people’s lives.

Peggy Noonan, the national syndicated columnist, knows a thing or two about words and how they impact us. She wrote recently about the advice Clare Boothe Luce once gave the newly inaugurated U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Ms. Luce was truly a remarkable woman. Her career spanned seven decades and nearly as many professional interests—journalism, politics, theatre, diplomacy, and intelligence.

According to Ms. Noonan, the sentence idea comes from a story Clare Boothe Luce told about a conversation she had in 1962 in the White House with her old friend John F. Kennedy. She said she told him that “a great man is one sentence.” His leadership can be so well summed up in a single sentence that you don’t have to hear his name to know who’s being talked about. “He preserved the union and freed the slaves” or “He lifted us out of a great depression and helped to win a World War.” You didn’t have to be told “Lincoln” or “FDR.”

She wondered what Kennedy’s sentence would be. She was telling him to concentrate, to know the great themes and demands of his time, and focus on them. It was good advice. History has imperatives, and sometimes they are clear. Sometimes they are met, and sometimes not. When they’re clear and met, you get quite a sentence (Wall Street Journal 2009).

Let’s look at a more contemporary example: the historic 2012 presidential debates. These debates may have more significance than previous ones because of the words chosen by the candidates, their rhythm, and their physical, nonverbal cues. A big part of communicating successfully depends on how well we negotiate the paradox of how the vast majority of human communication is conducted.

We know that more than 97% of human communication involves nonverbal cues (body language). To have a successful presentation, speech, or presidential debate performance, we must compose a sophisticated but seamless message, uniting our words in the proper rhythm, and use the corresponding nonverbal cues. If the words chosen don’t match the nonverbal cues or vice versa, the audience will be confused and the message will be diminished or, worse, ignored.

In the world of movies, theater, art, and entertainment, words have a dramatic impact. In a recent Wall Street Journal edition, a special report entitled “What’s In a Name?” discussed a number of box office successes that might have had a different result if their original titles had not been changed. For example, the Bogart classic Casablanca had an original title of Everybody Comes to Ricks. The Julia Roberts/Richard Gere blockbuster Pretty Woman had an original title of $3,000. The successful G.I. Jane was supposed to be released as In Defense of Honor. The world might not have ever remembered Diane Keaton and Woody Allen in Anhedonia, which was fortunately changed to Annie Hall (Wall Street Journal 2012).

Words have the power to affect both the physical and emotional health of people to whom we speak, for better or for worse. Words used to influence are inspiring, uplifting, and challenging. They encourage, motivate, and persuade; they can be visionary; they can change people’s lives for the better. Verbal communication is a powerful human instrument, and we must learn to use it properly. We need to not only learn to think about speaking in new ways, but also learn to think about language and human nature, psychology, and sociology.

Throughout history, there have been many examples of memorable quotes to demonstrate how what is said is just as important as how it was said. For example, when Lyndon B. Johnson was stumping for political office, he was debating an opponent and was asked the difference between himself and the opposing candidate. He famously replied, “He matriculated and I never matriculated.”

Some of the most famous speeches made by Abraham Lincoln are memorable not just for the message, but also for the fact that he condensed an enormous amount of information into them. It was not only the power of his words, but also his cadence that made the impact of the speeches more powerful. His second inaugural speech was only 700 words and the Gettysburg Address was just under three minutes.

The power of words can actually harm others. Power verbs express an action that is to be taken or that has been taken. When used correctly, a powerful verb has the power to impact your life whether you are going into battle, running for president, or simply interviewing for a job. Researchers have observed that when students are given standardized tests and told the tests are “intelligence exams,” the average scores are from 10% to 20% lower than when the same exam is given to similar students and told it is “just an exam.”

We know that words create impressions, ideas, images, concepts, and facsimiles. Therefore, the words that we hear and read influence how we think and consequently how we behave. This means there is a correlation between the words we select and use and the results that occur.

Using powerful verbal imagery helps people to imagine vivid images and allows people to figuratively and literally see concepts being mentioned. This was first discovered in the early twentieth century and was initially known as the Perky effect and later called visual simulation. Individuals can project abstract thoughts. Almost everyone does this from time to time, but we refer to it as daydreaming. When a person daydreams, he is completely awake and his eyes are wide open, yet he imagines being somewhere else, doing something else, seeing smoothly, and doing something else.

Visual simulation impacts what people hear and how fast they respond. A cognitive psychologist, Rolf Zwann, has done a lot of research on how people describe objects and shapes to which they are exposed. The experiment includes just showing people visuals, asking for responses, and providing audio prompts before the visual stimulation. The results indicated people respond faster if they are given visual and aural stimulation before being asked to see the shapes. (Bergen 2012, 95). Many studies have confirmed that people construct visual simulations of objects they hear or read about.

People construct shape and orientation simulation. Studies show that when people listened, they more often looked at the set of objects that fit with the meaning of the verb, even before they heard the name of the relevant object. People make predictions about what the rest of the sentence will contain as soon as words that they have already heard start to constrain what could reasonably follow. People start to cobble their understanding of the sentence incrementally (Bergen 2012, 125).

Grammar helps get the visual simulation going by pulling together all the pieces contributed by the words in the correct configuration. People will more easily and clearly understand and comprehend your meaning if you have structured your sentence correctly.

Do you remember when you were taught the famous comeback as a kid “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”? We all know how far from the truth that saying is. We are all aware of the enormous power in the meaning of the spoken word and what it means to the person who is on the receiving end. I’m sure you have been the recipient of words of wisdom, words of encouragement, or words of praise. On the other hand we have all experienced condescending words, words that hurt, words that destroyed our spirit, or words that have made us angry.

It is critical that your spoken word is carefully chosen in order to ensure success in all aspects of your life. Words influence your thinking and reinforce concepts within the psyche. The psychological association with the words you speak can affect the outcome of your goals and at what level you achieve. Words that are badly chosen can slaughter your passion, lower your sense of worth, and sabotage your level of enthusiasm. This can retard your progress and produce anemic results. Words that are well chosen can stimulate the psyche, rekindle enthusiasm, generate more insight and vision, increase your expectations, and produce greater outcomes.

The spoken word you choose creates an impression of you and the image you want to portray. If you want to be perceived in a certain way, the words you choose can help you or hurt you. If you want to make and keep friends your spoken word can make it happen. If you want to influence others, choose carefully your words. If you want to drive them away, don’t.

Let us examine the power of words and the words we choose. You know how your words affect others; you can analyze the feedback you get. If you truly want to succeed and be a winner, pay special attention to the words that flow from your mouth. Use it to work for you not against you. Begin today to pay close attention to your spoken word, you will be amazed the power that lies within.

When Words Do Damage

“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” -Pearl Strachan

If not carefully chosen, our spoken word can wound others. These wounds can stay with someone for years to follow and affect them in ways we could never imagine. The power of the spoken word is so great that not only can we destroy someone but our words can cause us to self-destruct as well.

Words can be used to slander, to lie, or to destroy the reputation of someone. When one does such things they seldom stop to think of the negative psychological impressions that are implanted into their psyche. After a while it can become almost impossible for this person to utter words of encouragement to others. As the words become more contaminated one’s persona can have a tendency to change as well. Before long this individual may not be able to recognize his/her pattern of speech and why others seem to be repelled by it.

Words have the power to ruin relationships. If words are not chosen carefully, relationships can be destroyed, jobs can be lost, or customers can leave. Remember in life we are constantly engaged in relationships with people. Many of these relationships can promote our success in life. It is of utmost importance that our words are chosen wisely to build relationships and not destroy them.

Parents we sometimes wound our children by the words we speak to them. Unable to cognitively understand why their parents speak to them in a derogatory way, they grow up feeling insecure or put down. By not choosing your words carefully, by talking down to your children, or yelling at them, it can cause serious long-lasting emotional and psychological damage to their tender minds.

Examine the words you speak. Are they destructive? Are the spoken well? Do they encourage or put others down? Make a special effort to choose your words more carefully – they are a reflection of what’s on the inside.

Encouraging Words

One of the most powerful things your words can do is to change the world in which you live. By your choice of words you can influence others in positive ways and as a result achieve peace and prosperity in your life. The following are ways to realize that:

Pay a genuine compliment or a kind word to someone who crosses your path.

Your power of words can encourage and motivate someone by saying “you did a good job.”

Say words of comfort to someone sad or grieving.

Use your words to admit when you were wrong.

Use your words to say “I’m sorry”

Don’t forget to say “Thank You”

Use your words to show appreciation

Use your words to show respect for others.

Say thing funny to make someone smile and brighten up their day.

Use your words to help that special someone in your life feel secure with your love.

Use your words to speak to God from your heart to give thanks for the blessing in your life.

Use your words to praise your child for their efforts.

Say words to let your children know what a gift they are to you.

Start today to make a conscious effort to monitor your words. Make it a point to bring friendly words into every relationship in your life. Learn to respond in ways that disperse good and positive energy into the world around you. Be aware that the power you have in your words can move people to act in helpful or harmful ways. Use it to empower self and others.

Choosing Your Words

According to a study carried out by a professor at Penn State University, it showed that irrespective of age or culture, there are many more words in our vocabulary that expresses negative rather than positive emotions.

Our spoken word could mean the difference between failure and success. In choosing more carefully your words it’s essential to envision the impact you want to have on the people around you. Think about how your plans for achieving your goals can be affected positively or negatively by the words you choose? Let’s look at some common negative words we use and how we can make better choices.

Change “Problems” to “Challenges”. By looking at the situation as a challenge it is perceived as temporary and solvable.

Change “I can’t” to “I can” or “I will”.

Change “Should Have” to “Could Have”. By doing so it removes guilt and shame and puts no one down.

Change “Always” to “Often” and “Never” to “Seldom”. These two words are exaggerated words and do not convey an accurate meaning. They cause others to become defensive and you seldom get the results you need.

Change “Mistakes” to “Life’s Lessons”. This removes the guilt and shame and allows us to learn from the past.

Remember, a positively spoken word is a powerful affirmation. It can replace any subconscious cues that have the potential to sabotage your success in life. Become more aware of the negative words you say and try to catch yourself saying them.

The spoken word has the power to play a destructive or constructive role in your life. I hope I have helped to bring more awareness to the power of words that flow from you and the impact it has on your world. Always remember to THINK before you discharge your words.

Yeah, ain’t that a pity, people ain’t that a cryin’ shame
Ain’t that a pity, I declare it’s a cryin’ shame
She wait till it got nine below zero, and put me down for another man
I give her all my money, all of my lovin’ and everything
All of my money, all of my lovin’ and everything
It done got nine below zero and she done put me down for another man
Nine below zero, the little girl she done put me down
Nine below zero, the little girl she done put me down
She know I don’t have nowhere to stay, and I don’t have not one dime

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day.
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.;
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.

Stopped in to a church I passed along the way.
Well I got down on my knees and I pretend to pray.
You know the preacher liked the cold;
He knows I’m gonna stay.
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day.
If I didn’t tell her I could leave today;
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.

Time, time, time, see what’s become of me.
While I looked around for my possibilities,
I was so hard to please.
But look around, the leaves are brown,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.
Hear the salvation army band
Down by the riverside, it’s bound to be a better ride
Than what you’ve got planned,
Carry your cup in your hand.
And look around you, the leaves are brown now,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.
Hang on to your hopes, my friend.
That’s an easy thing to say but if your hopes should pass away,
It’s simply pretend, that you can build them again.
Look around, the grass is high, the fields are ripe,
It’s the springtime of my life.
Oh, seasons change with scenery,
Weaving time in a tapestry,
Won’t you stop and remember me?
At any convenient time.
Funny how my memory skips while looking over manuscripts
Of unpublished rhyme,
Drinking my vodka and rhyme.
I look around, the leaves are brown,
There’s a patch of snow on the ground,
Look around…

And I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky and gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And shivering trees are standing in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go
And I get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down winter’s closing in
I had a girl in summertime with summer colored skin
And not another man in town my darling’s heart could win
But when the leaves fell trembling down
And bully winds did rub their face down in the snow
She got the urge for going I had to let her go
She got the urge for going when the meadow grass was turning brown
And summertime was falling down and winters closing in
Now the warriors of winter they give a cold triumphant shout
All that stays is dying all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight
Flapping and a-racin on before the snow
Got the urge for going they’ve got the wings to go
And they get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter’s closing in
I’ll ply the fire with kindling, I’ll pull the blankets to my chin
I’ll lock the vagrant winter out I’ll bolt my wandering in
I’d like to call back summertime
And have her stay for just another month or so
But she’s got the urge for going I guess she’ll have to go
And she’s gets the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning
brown
All her empire’s are falling down winter’s closing in
And I get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And summertime is falling down

Snow Fills the fields we used to know and the little park where we would go Sleeps far below In the snow Gone It’s all over, and you’re gone But the memory lives on, although Our dreams lie buried In the snow Sometimes the wind blows through the trees And I think I hear you callin’ me But all I see is snow Everywhere I go As the cold winter sun sinks low I walk alone Through the snow

Beneath this snowy mantle cold and clean
The unborn grass lies waiting
For its coat to turn to green
The snowbird sings the song he always sings
And speaks to me of flowers
That will bloom again in spring

When I was young
My heart was young then, too
Anything that it would tell me
That’s the thing that I would do
But now I feel such emptiness within
For the thing that I want most in life’s
The thing that I can’t win

Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you

The breeze along the river seems to say
That he’ll only break my heart again
Should I decide to stay
So, little snowbird
Take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow

Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you

Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
Well I turned around and I said ho, ho
And the northern lights commenced to glow
And she said, with a tear in her eye
Watch out where the huskies go, and don’t you eat that yellow snow
Watch out where the huskies go, and don’t you eat that yellow snow

In the winter time
When all the leaves are brown
And the wind blows so chill
And the birds have all flown for the summer
I’m callin’, hear me callin’, hear me callin’

In the winter time
When all the leaves are brown
And the wind blows so chill
And the birds have all flown for the summer
I’m callin’, hear me callin’, hear me callin’
I’m callin’, hear me callin’, hear me callin’
In the winter time

In the winter time
When all the leaves are brown
And the wind blows so chill
And the birds have all flown for the summer
I’m callin’, hear me callin, hear me callin’

Lay your body down upon the midnight snow,
Feel the cold of winter in your hair
Here in a world of your own,
In a casing that’s grown
To a children’s delight
That arrived overnight.

And here they come to play their magic games
Carving names upon your frozen hand.
Here in a world of your own,
Like a sleeper whose eyes
Sees the pain with surprise
As it smothers your cries
They’ll never never know.

Hey there’s a Snowman
Hey, Hey what a Snowman
Pray for the Snowman
Ooh, Ooh what a Snowman
They say a snow year’s a good year
Filled with the love of all who lie so deep.

Smiling faces tear your body to the ground
Covered red that only we can see.
Here in a ball that they made
From the snow on the ground,
See it rolling away
Wild eyes to the sky
They’ll never, never know.

Hey there’s a Snowman
Hey what a Snowman
Pray for the Snowman
Ooh, Ooh what a Snowman
They say a snow year’s a good year
Filled with the love of all who lie so deep.

Hey there goes the Snowman
Hey,hey there what a Snowman
Hey there lies the Snowman
Hey he was a Snowman
They say a snow year’s a good year
Filled with the love of all who lie so deep.

Snow can wait I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter
I put my hands in my father’s glove
I run off where the drifts get deeper

Sleeping Beauty it drips me with a frown
I hear a voice you must learn to stand up
For yourself cause I can’t always be around

He says when you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
‘Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I’ll always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers come pleading for the sun
Years go by and I’m used to waiting
With a ring with some snowman’s
Mirror mirror where’s the crystal palace
But I can only see myself

Skating around the truth who I am
But I know the Ice is getting thin

When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
‘Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I’ll always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Hair is gray and the fire is burring
So many dreams on the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud of me
I always wanted that myself

When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
‘Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I’ll always want you near
You say that things change my dear

I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the pack,
All swaddled in their coats
With scarves of red tied ‘round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin’ in the snow
And I turned ‘round and there you go.
And Michael you would fall,
And turn the white snow
Red as strawberries in the summertime.

I was following the pack,
All swaddled in their coats
With scarves of red tied ‘round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin’ in the snow
And I turned ‘round and there you go.
And Michael you would fall,
And turn the white snow
Red as strawberries in the summertime.

I was following the pack,
All swaddled in their coats
With scarves of red tied ‘round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin’ in the snow
And I turned ‘round and there you go.
And Michael you would fall,
And turn the white snow
Red as strawberries in the summertime….

It’s the widow now that owns that angry plow
The spartan mule and the crippled cow
The fallow field that will yield no more
As the fox lay sleeping beneath her kitchen floor

The stream can’t contain such the withering rain
And from the pasture the fence it is leaning away
The clouds crack and growl like some great cat on the prowl
Crying out I am, I am over and over again

The days grow short as the nights grow long
The kettle sings its tortured songs
A many petaled kiss I place upon her brow
Oh my lady, lady I am loving you now

The winter birds have gone back again
Here the sprightly chickadee, gone now is the willow wren
In passing greet each other as if old, old friends
And to the voiceless trees it is their own they will lend

The days grow short as the nights grow long
The kettle sings its tortured songs
A many petaled kiss I place upon her brow
Oh my lady, lady I am loving you now

Though all these things will change the memories will remain
As green to gold and gold to brown
The leaves will fall to feed the ground
And in their falling make no sound
Oh my lady, lady, I am loving you now

I’ve gathered all my money, I’m going to town
To buy my lady a long and flowing gown
‘Cause come tomorrow morning we’re off to the county fair
I’ll find a yellow flower and I will lace it in her hair

The days grow short as the nights grow long
The kettle sings its tortured songs
A many petaled kiss I place upon her brow
Oh my lady, lady I am loving you now
Oh my lady, lady I am loving you now

As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts
Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms
Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night?
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt

And my head told my heart
“Let love grow”
But my heart told my head
“This time no
This time no”

We’ll be washed and buried one day my girl
And the time we were given will be left for the world
The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague
So let the memories be good for those who stay

And my head told my heart
“Let love grow”
But my heart told my head
“This time no”
Yes, my heart told my head
“This time no
This time no”

Oh the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved
Was the same that sent me into your arms
Oh and pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone
And no hope, no hope will overcome

And if your strife strikes at your sleep
Remember spring swaps snow for leaves
You’ll be happy and wholesome again
When the city clears and sun ascends

Well they say, “Can’t please everyone”
But I’m stuck on a winning streak
Well today, there’s clarity
And tonight, I see tomorrow
All at once, the winter’s here
All the lochs are frozen over
As I look in back of me
See a shape beside the walkway

Half of my life, I’ve been watching
Half of my life, I’ve been waking up
Birds in the sky could warn me
There’s no life like the slow life

So for now, I’ll take my time
For now, I can’t be bothered
But I learned a lot of things
And I fudged a lot of numbers

Once again, the winter’s here
All the lochs are frozen over
So I look in back of me
See a shape beside the walkway

Half of my life, I’ve been watching
Half of my life, I’ve been waking up
Birds in the sky could warn me
There’s no life like the slow life

I was born in a cloud…
Now I am falling.
I want you to catch me.
Look up and you’ll see me.
You know you can hear me.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
We’re over a forest.
There’s millions of snowflakes.
We’re dancing.
The world is so loud. Keep falling and I’ll find you.
I am ice and dust. I am sky.
I can see horses wading through snowdrifts.
My broken hearts, my fabulous dances.
My fleeting song, fleeting.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
My broken hearts, my fabulous dance.
My fleeting song.
My twist and shout.
I am ice and dust and light. I am sky and here.
I can hear people.
I think you are near me now.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
We’re over a forest.
It’s midnight at Christmas.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
I think I can see you.
There’s your long, white neck.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
Now I am falling.
Look up and you’ll see me.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
In a moment or two.
I’ll be with you.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
Be ready to catch me.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.

There is a general opinion (not carried out through scientific research) that the German language is full of English. This is not a particularly striking view, considering there are words such as ‘chillen’, ‘chillaxen’, ‘bloggen’ however is this assumption that German has a lot of English leading to a culture of not wanting to learn a language?

From having studied the German language and culture for ten years, including living there for prolonged periods of time, I would not agree with the notion that the German language is overrun with English words. There are indeed words that have found their way into the language, owing mainly to the fact that they are modern day words, such as ‘liken’, ‘googeln’, ‘posten’. On the flip side, this shows the fluidity and flexibility of language. The near-universality of social media, predominantly from the USA comes hand in hand with the fact that English words have crept into other languages, with German merely being one of the examples.

With this influence of English words into the German language, it is not difficult to imagine that people may become put off from learning languages. This might seem an extreme proposition, but it can be combined with the notion of ‘everyone speaks English so they will understand me’. I would, for the most part (with exceptions) argue that learning the language could place someone in a better position. Yes, there may be words with English influence or be just English words, but it is the bundle of advantages that comes from the learning.

English in the German language also poses those “false friends”. A big example is the German ‘Handy’. In English, we do not refer to out mobile as a ‘Handy’. It is the case that there is the word handy in the English language, but the meaning is that of being useful. Far different from a mobile. Also, the English ‘actual’ does not equate to the German ‘aktuell’. The German word ‘aktuell’ means current, for example in ‘aktuelle Nachrichten’ (current affairs).

It is clear that there is influence in the German language from English, but that is a universal situation, and not retrained to German. Je mehr man lernt, desto erfolgreicher man wird.

When I arrived in Germany about 15 years ago, German was largely free of outside influence but this has changed dramatically in recent years. It has become riddled with English imports. In some fields, this is not so surprising. For example, the internet revolution started in America and many of the terms have inevitably found their way into German, e.g. eMail, Browser, onLineBanking, surfen etc. However, some English computer terms are used at the expense of perfectly good German alternatives. Chatten instead of plaudern, downloaden instead of herunterladen, even the word Computer itself instead of Rechner. This has also led to some bizarre-sounding German; no-one seems to know how to conjugate downloaden, for example. On chat sites, I have seen the following forms used:

Hast du die Datei downloadet?

Hast du die Datei downgeloadet?

Hast du die Datei gedownloadet?

English words have not only found their way into the field of computing, however. They are prevalent in the field of advertising, particularly so in the advertising of luxury items. No manufacturer sells a car these days without reference to airbags and cockpits, limousines and caravans, spoilers and Styling. The following is a listing of some of the English used in advertising slogans in one edition of Der Spiegel, a weekly news magazine.

There’s no better way to fly (Lufthansa)

The classic of the future (perfume)

The energy is yours (perfume)

Tomorrow’s classics (watch)

Elegance is an attitude (watch)

Tested for the unexpected (watch)

Take a walk on the red side (champagne)

Active driving, active safety (car)

We hear you (computer)

The whole world in one bank (investment bank)

More life, most money (investment bank)

Time is money (investment bank)

English is ubiquitous not only in magazine advertising but also in TV commercials. The following are two examples from investment banks. (Interestingly, the words are spoken with a clearly German accent. They have not used a native English speaker or a German with perfect English to say them.)

The future. Together. Now.

Are you ready for investments? (the English of which seems slightly suspect to me)

In general, it can be said that the English used in the adverts is readily understood, and is used to convey the impression of a global player (another English German expression!); i.e. a company that is well-established in international markets. Compare this with the only use of German that I know in English advertising: Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik. Here there has been no attempt to choose an expression that native English speakers are likely to understand.

A very interesting group of words that has entered the German language are those that are based on English words but not used by native English speakers. The most obvious recent one is the Handy (for mobile or cell phone). Other such words are twen, meaning a person between the ages of 20 and 30, and pullunder for what the English would call a tank top.

The influence of English has become so strong that most Germans now sing Happy Birthday to each other in English!

Germany is undergoing one of its periodic bouts of angst over the seemingly unstoppable spread of Denglish, an Anglicized hybrid that purists believe is corrupting the national language.

Like the better known Franglais, it is characterized by extensive borrowings of English words for which, in many cases, there are perfectly good native equivalents.

Deutsche Bahn, the national rail network, reignited the debate this week by starting a campaign against the inflationary spread of English and pseudo-English terms among its employees.

It issued staff a booklet of German words and phrases that should henceforth be used in preference to the corresponding Anglicisms. Out go the railway’s information “hotlines” and its “call-a-bike” service, to be replaced by more Teutonic equivalents.

English borrowings are sometimes seen as adding a touch of cool to the otherwise mundane.

Adoption of Denglish has also been particularly prevalent in business and marketing, giving rise to such horrors as “Inhouse-Meeting für Outsourcing-Projekte.”

The Germans don’t always get it right. For them, a cellphone is a “handy,” an apparent Anglicism unknown in the English-speaking world. A “sprayer” is a graffiti artist, and “peeling” means a body scrub.

Snappy German dressers, like their French counterparts, have been wearing a “smoking” — a tuxedo — for years.

But the spate of more modern borrowings is sometimes viewed as indicative of a sinister cultural imperialism on the part of the so-called Anglo-Saxon world.

The British Council, which promotes English-language study abroad, perhaps enhanced that perception when it mischievously asked its German Twitter followers on Wednesday to name their favorite Denglish word.

The German Language Association warned two years ago that German could become a “peripheral” language if steps were not taken to protect it from foreign invasions.

“German has been losing its importance for 100 years,” Holger Klatte, the organization’s spokesman, told The Guardian. “Particularly in the areas of technology, medicine, the Internet and the economy, English is becoming ever more important.”

Like France’s language guardians, German purists may be fighting a losing battle against international English. The results of past efforts to rid the language of foreign words had mixed results.

The words “Fernsprecher” for telephone and “Fernsehen” for television are survivors of a Nazi campaign to rid the language of its Latin element.

All languages are enriched by foreign borrowings and none is more of a jackdaw than English, a happy jumble of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Old French to which hundreds of words have been added from around the world.

Native English speakers tend to be more relaxed than others about adopting foreign words, which they learn naturally from an early age, even before they get to kindergarten.

Some people claim that the words above all mean the same thing, but they don’t. Even the term “Denglisch” alone has several different meanings. Since the word “Denglis(c)h” is not found in German dictionaries (even recent ones), and “Neudeutsch” is vaguely defined as “die deutsche Sprache der neueren Zeit” (“the German language of more recent times”), it can be difficult to come up with a good definition. But here are five different definitions for Denglisch (or Denglish):

Denglisch 1: The use of English words in German, with an attempt to incorporate them into German grammar. Examples: downloaden – ich habe den File gedownloadet/downgeloadet. – Heute haben wir ein Meeting mit den Consultants.*

Denglisch 2: The (excessive) use of English words, phrases, or slogans in German advertising. Example: A recent German magazine ad for the German airline Lufthansa prominently displays the slogan: “There’s no better way to fly.”

Denglisch 3: The (bad) influences of English spelling and punctuation on German spelling and punctuation. One pervasive example: The incorrect use of an apostrophe in German possessive forms, as in Karl’s Schnellimbiss. This common error can be seen even on signs and painted on the side of trucks. It is even seen for plurals ending in s. Another example is a growing tendency to drop the hyphen (English-style) in German compound words: Karl Marx Straße vs Karl-Marx-Straße.

Denglisch 4: The mixing of English and German vocabulary (in sentences) by English-speaking expats whose German skills are weak.

Denglisch 5: The coining of faux English words that are either not found in English at all or are used with a different meaning than in German. Examples: der Dressman (male model), der Smoking (tuxedo), der Talkmaster (talk show host).

Some observers make a distinction between the use of anglicized words in German ( das Meeting = anglicism) and Denglisch’s mixing of English words and German grammar ( Wir haben das gecancelt. ), especially when German equivalents are shunned. Although there is a technical difference (and a symantic one: Unlike “Anglizismus” in German, “Denglisch” usually has a negative, pejorative meaning.), I think such a distinction usually draws too fine a point; it is often difficult to decide whether a term is an anglicism or Denglisch.

Language Cross-Pollination

There has always been a certain amount of language borrowing and “cross-pollination” among world languages. Historically, both English and German have borrowed heavily from Greek, Latin, French, and other languages. English has German loan words such as angst, gemütlich, kindergarten, masochism, and schadenfreude, usually because there is no true English equivalent.

But in recent years, particularly following the Second World War, German has intensified its borrowings from English. As English has become the dominant world language for science and technology (areas that German itself once dominated) and business, German, more than any other European language, has adopted even more English vocabulary. Although some people object to this, most German-speakers do not. Unlike the French and Franglais, very few German-speakers seem to perceive the invasion of English as a threat to their own language. (Even in France, such objections seem to have done little to stop English words like le weekend from creeping into French.) True, there are several small language organizations in Germany that see themselves as guardians of the German language and try to wage war against English — with little success to date. English terms are perceived as trendy or “cool” in German (English “cool” is cool).

English Influences on German

But many well-educated Germans shudder at what they view as the “bad” influences of English in today’s German. Dramatic proof of this tendency can be seen in the popularity of Bastian Sick’s humorous bestselling book entitled Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod (“the dative [case] will be the death of the genitive”). Sick’s 2004 bestseller (another English word used in German) points out the deterioration of the German language (“Sprachverfall”), caused in part by bad English influences. The success of the first book brought about two sequels: Folgen 2 und 3, Parts 2 and 3, “Neues/Noch mehr aus dem Irrgarten der deutschen Sprache” (“new things/even more from the German-language maze”).

Although not all of German’s problems can be blamed on Anglo-American influences, many of them can. It is in the areas of business and technology in particular that the invasion of English is most pervasive. A German business person may attend einen Workshop (der) or go to ein Meeting (das) where there’s eine Open-End-Diskussion about the company’s Performance (die). He or she reads Germany’s popular Manager-Magazin (das) in order to learn how to managen the Business (das). At their Job (der) many people work am Computer (der) and visit das Internet by going online.

While there are perfectly good German words for all of the “English” words above, they just aren’t “in” (as they say in German, or “Deutsch ist out.”). A rare exception is the German word for computer, der Rechner, which enjoys parity with der Computer (first invented by the German Conrad Zuse).

But other areas beside business and technology (advertising, entertainment, movies and television, pop music, teen slang, etc.) are also riddled with Denglisch and Neudeutsch. German-speakers listen to Rockmusik (die) on a CD (pronounced say-day) and watch movies on a DVD (day-fow-day).

Languages have always had to change. It is this that keeps them. New words have been and continue to be developed to allow for the expression of new concepts and ideas and cross-cultural interaction often results in the adoption of words from other languages. With modern transport and globalisation, this historically slow process has been rapidly accelerated. English is the lingua franca of the ‘Western’ World and its prevalence has presented some new challenges. This is very much the case in Germany, where the influx of English words, referred to as ‘Denglisch’ (a portmanteau of the German words ‘Deutsch’, meaning German and ‘Englisch’, meaning English), is a sensitive subject.

Some people argue that the use of English words in German, such as sale, meeting, company, lifestyle, etc is simply not necessary as there are already equivalents for these words in German (Schlussverkauf, Besprechung, Firma and Lebensstil respectively). Others argue that the use of such words gives a sense of international openness and that this is important for German business. English is also important to many young Germans who support international openness, but also feel that English words often allow themselves to more effectively express themselves. For these youths, English words just sound ‘cool’.

What about Germans who don’t have an understanding of English? Broadly speaking, younger Germans have at least some understanding of English words and they are regularly bombarded with English media, which they have been able to understand and to some extent assimilate. This is not the case for the older German generation. Their grasp of English is often very limited and the use of English words in retail and media leaves many feeling excluded and angry. So there is a generational divide, but it is important to note that younger generations have often used slang words which cannot be understood by the older generation and the whole point of this has been to create a kind of linguistic space which belongs to them and cannot be penetrated by older generations. This revolution also helps to keep languages alive – the invention of new concepts and the expression of new nuances should ultimately lead to the enrichment of a language. The difference here is that the lingustic generational divide is maintained not by young Germans revolting against the older generations, but by German businesses and government who wish to prosper in a globalised economy in which English is the dominant language. This can leave old people behind and many feel it will ultimately alienate younger Germans from their cultural and linguistic roots.

Another issue is that the Denglish phenomenon does not only involve the use of loan English words, but also to German interpretations of originally English words. These so-called pseudo-anglicisms often lead to confusion, particularly when it comes to translation. For example, the word Parking in German does not refer to the act of somebody parking a vehicle, but instead refers to a car park or place where someone would park a vehicle. Another example is the word Smoking – in German this has nothing to do with the action of smoking something, but instead means dinner jacket or tuxedo. These false friends can be problematic, but most reputable companies that provide translation services keep track of these words and can ensure there are no crossed wires – a relief to any German company hoping for success in any English-speaking market!

So what is to become of the German Language? It is spoken by over 120 million people worldwide, so is there really a chance it could, as some argue, become so flooded with English words that it will become no more than a mere dialect of English? This is the key question in the Denglisch debate, but the answer is not a simple one. English is likely to continue to dominate as the lingua franca and will continue to influence the German language. The amount of influence English will have, although currently heavily influenced by a globalised economy and both economic and political ambitions, will ultimately be decided by the people that speak German and use it to express themselves. Older people in Germany will for now have to put up with Denglish and can only try to ensure that the younger generations don’t forget their roots by promoting interest in German language and culture. If German can be enriched by some English words, it can only be a positive thing – as long as a healthy balance is maintained.

It seems hardly a sentence is spoken in Berlin that doesn’t have an American English word in it.

One word that especially grates — and I confess to a certain bias, having learned German as a toddler when it wasn’t so Americanized — is a word pronounced “sogh-ee.” Or, as Americans say it, “sorry.”

“Sogh-ee” your package is late.

“Sogh-ee” your hot water is off.

“Sogh-ee” we can’t help you.

Anatol Stefanowitsch, an English linguistics professor at the Free University of Berlin, says it makes sense that many German businesses have adopted that word.

“I mean, ‘sorry’ is quite a useful way of apologizing because it doesn’t commit you to very much. It’s very easy to say ‘sorry.’ The closest equivalent would be Entschuldigung, which is, ‘I apologize,’ ” Stefanowitsch says. “That’s really like admitting that you’ve done something wrong, whereas with saying ‘sorry,’ you could also just be expressing empathy: ‘I’m so sorry for you, but it has nothing to do with me.’ ”

“Sorry” is one of more than 10,000 American words Germans have borrowed since 1990. Language experts here say English is the main foreign language that has influenced German over the past six decades. This cultural infusion is pervasive, with English used by journalists, by scientists and even at the highest levels of government.

“Germany doesn’t really have a very purist attitude to language — unlike France, where you have an academy whose task it is to find French alternatives for borrowings; or if there is a new technology that needs to be named, then the academy will find a name,” Stefanowitsch says.

Even purely domestic enterprises like the German rail system are getting into the English game. Christian Renner, waiting at Berlin’s main station for a train home to Frankfurt, says it’s useful to know English words if you want to find a waiting area.

“I’m not sure if calling it a ‘lounge’ is better than using the German word ‘warteraum,’ ” Renner says. “I guess it’s more modern or hip.”

Also confusing to some German passengers is the word for the main ticket “center,” instead of the German word “zentrum.”

To some language experts, like Holger Klatte, the widespread Americanization of German is problematic. Klatte is the spokesman for the German Language Society, which has 36,000 members worldwide.

“Languages do tend to affect one another, but the influence of English in Germany is so strong that Germans are having a hard time advancing their own vocabulary,” he says.

Klatte says that can be a problem for Germans who may not know any English.

“The second world war and Nazi times have led Germans to downplay the importance of their language,” he says. “Unlike the French, Finns and Poles — they promote their languages a lot more than we do.”

Stefanowitsch believes this linguistic angst — a word that migrated from German to English — is overblown. He says a quarter of all German words are borrowed from other languages. That’s more than what’s found in Mandarin Chinese, but far less than the 40 to 80 percent seen in English, he says.

Plus Germans integrate the words they borrow — for example the suffix “-gate,” as in Watergate, which was voted last year’s Anglicism of the year in Germany. Stefanowitsch says it has been used, among other things, to describe the NSA spying scandal on the German chancellor as “Merkel-gate.”

“Borrowing doesn’t mean that a language loses its vitality. It’s an addition of creativity. No language has ever disappeared because it borrowed words,” Stefanowitsch says.

But he says there are pitfalls to overdoing Americanized German.

Take, for example, the word “handy,” which is what Germans call their cellphones. Stefanowitsch says people here assume it’s an English word, and it may have come from the word “handheld” to distinguish it from car phones when cellular technology was relatively new.

He says the danger to such made-up words is that Germans could end up using them when trying to speak actual English.

It is the mother tongue of Goethe, Schiller and Brecht, a language still spoken by more than 100 million people worldwide. But an increasing number of linguists now fear German is under mortal danger from a torrent of anglicisms flooding into the nation’s vocabulary.

The German Language Association (Verein Deutsche Sprache, or VDS) fears that German could become a “peripheral” language if steps are not taken to protect it from foreign invasions.

Each month the VDS updates its Anglicism Index, which reports new English words which have crept into common parlance and then suggests home grown alternatives. The latest entries include “follower”, “live-stream” and “socializing” which ought really, it says, be “Anhänger”, “Direkt-Datenstrom” and “Geselligkeit”. Other unwelcome new additions are classic examples of the mongrel known as “Denglisch” – “business breakfast” and “eye catcher”, neither of which are used by native English speakers.

“German has been losing its importance for 100 years,” said Holger Klatte, spokesman of the VDS. “Particularly in the areas of technology, medicine, the internet and the economy, English is becoming ever more important. There are not enough new German words being invented, and many people are shut out of the conversation because they can’t understand it.”

He warned: “The German language is not only losing its influence but will also at some point become a peripheral language.”

Germany is classed as one of the world’s major languages, and is the most widely spoken first language in Europe. The VDS has more than 33,000 paying members and is growing.

There are certain situations nowadays where it is “nigh on impossible” to speak German in Germany, said Klatte – “for example if you work in marketing, there just isn’t the vocabulary”. The German word for marketing, incidentally, is das Marketing.

Klatte’s own pet hate, he said, was seeing shops displaying signs promising “further reductions” – “there is no need at all for them to use the English in that situation”.

The VDS would like to see Germany follow France’s example and do more to protect and nurture the language. German public radio should be obliged to play a higher percentage of German-language music, said Klatte, and the government should introduce a law forcing manufacturers to include German information on product labels.

“We have a special responsibility to protect our language because it is a language of particular cultural importance,” he said. “Our language is our expression of our culture and we have a duty to nurture it and ensure its future development.”

Not everyone in Germany sees English as a threat. In the south-western spa town of Wiesbaden, the VDS’s rival, the Society for the German Language (Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache) is of the firm belief that German is not at risk of marginalisation, even less, extinction.

“Contrary to common belief, only 1%-3% of the average German’s vocabulary of 5,000 words is made up of anglicisms,” said Andrea-Eva Ewels, the society’s managing director. “We don’t see English as the enemy. We’re of the opinion that English can enrich our language, just as many other languages, for example French and Latin, have influenced German over history.”

But she admitted that many Germans were unhappy with the anglicisation of their mother tongue. “We did a survey in 2008 and 39% of respondents said they did not like anglicisms,” she said. Interestingly, Germans in the east were more unhappy with the anglicisation of their language – 46% objected compared with 37% in the west.

Despite the onslaught of English, some attempts are being made to stem the tide. In January, Siemens announced it would use fewer anglicisms in future. The VDS has noisily criticised the company for years, complaining last year that there was no need for them to refer to “renewable energy” when “erneuerbare Energie” would do just as well, ditto “Smart Grids” (intelligente Stromnetze) and “Healthcare” (Medizintechnik).

Last year Germany’s transport minister, Peter Ramsauer, banned his staff from using a string of anglicisms, including “Laptops”, “Tickets” and “Flip-charts”.

The German language is under threat. That’s the view of Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrats party, which wants to change the country’s constitution to include German as the national language.

Although some interpreted the centre-right CDU’s move as an attack on Germany’s Turkish minority, it seems the invasion of English provided a more likely impetus. The debate is an on-going one. For years German linguists have despaired at the flood of incoming English words and the mixing of the two languages which has become known as ‘Denglish’; ’shoppen’, ‘chatten’ and ‘babysitten’ have become the norm.

The CDU’s call to make the German language an official part of the constitution at its party congress last month has added fresh fuel to the debate. Although the motion passed easily into CDU official policy, Angela Merkel, head of the party and Germany’s chancellor, was firmly against it: “I personally don’t find it good to write everything into the constitution”, she told German television channel RTL.

Professor Ludwig Eichinger of the Institute for German Language, who spoke on Germany’s place in a globalised world at a conference on foreign policy this week, is relaxed about the debate: “Words come in and out of fashion all the time and I don’t think that anybody is questioning that Germans speak German. It wouldn’t hurt to have something like that written into the constitution, but then again I don’t think that’s a strong enough argument in its favour.”

But many German language critics would welcome the move. While they say they have no problem with the natural absorption of English vocabulary in the same way as Latin or French words have been absorbed over centuries, they object to the exaggerated way in which English has been embraced in all areas of public life.

“It causes a problem in that whole areas migrate into English, for example on the stock exchanges, in the field of computing and within some companies,” says Holger Klatte, director of the Association for the German Language (Verein für Deutsche Sprache). “It’s not just whole sections of the population who can’t speak English who are then shut out, it means that in those areas hardly any new German phrases develop, that German is overtaken and loses further standing.”

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations specifically attacked advertisers at a recent debate, pointing to the use of English or Denglish advertising slogans which many consumers fail to understand. One of the most quoted is “Come in and find out”, used by the cosmetics chain Douglas, and interpreted by many Germans as “come in and find the exit”.

Wolf Schneider, the country’s foremost language critic, supports the idea of a constitutional change: “Yes the German language is under threat – if advertising language and business jargon continue to develop as they do, if German politicians and journalists in Brussels would rather speak bad English than good German, if German academics try to understand each other using bad English.”

But a change to the constitution may take a while in coming. No further discussions within the party or in parliament have been scheduled and the Social Democrats and Greens are opposed – any law would need a two thirds majority in parliament.